{"id":714452,"date":"2026-03-02T05:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/marshals-showrunner-explains-how-that-seismic-premiere-shock-brought-kayce-dutton-back-to-tv\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T05:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:15:16","slug":"marshals-showrunner-explains-how-that-seismic-premiere-shock-brought-kayce-dutton-back-to-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/marshals-showrunner-explains-how-that-seismic-premiere-shock-brought-kayce-dutton-back-to-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Marshals\u2019 Showrunner Explains How That Seismic Premiere Shock Brought Kayce Dutton Back to TV"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t[This story contains major spoilers from the season premiere of Marshals<\/em>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIn order to revisit Luke Grimes\u2018 Yellowstone<\/em> character with a spinoff series<\/a>, something would have to flip Kayce Dutton\u2019s world upside down. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe son to the late John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner) rode off with a pretty perfect ending on the flagship series when he, along with wife Monica (played by Kelsey Asbille) and son Tate (Brecken Merrill), left his family\u2019s ranch behind and set out to start a new ranch and a better Dutton legacy.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut that happ<\/a>y ending is quickly undone with Marshals<\/em>, the first of two Yellowstone<\/em> sequel-spinoffs to come this year that released its first episode on Sunday night. As was heavily hinted in the trailer, Kayce suffers an immense loss. The premiere has now confirmed that his wife, Monica, whose lineage is with the (fictional) Broken Rock tribe, died after battling cancer due to toxic levels on the reservation.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpencer Hudnut, the showrunner, executive producer and writer who pitched Taylor Sheridan the idea of doing Marshals<\/em>, said he, Sheridan and Paramount went through several ideas before he was told that Asbille, who played Monica on Yellowstone<\/em>, was unavailable for the new series. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce,\u201d Hudnut tells The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like Luke and I were sitting there saying, \u2018We should kill Monica.\u2019 It was more like, \u2018If she\u2019s not available for this, then what\u2019s the best way to move on from that character in the least exploitive way?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Hudnut details the process of getting Marshals<\/em> on its feet, how he got over his fears of taking the show reins from prolific hitmaker Sheridan (who is a credited EP, but, for the first time, not writing the Yellowstone<\/em>-verse series), how much of Yellowstone<\/em> will loom over Marshals<\/em>, if Kayce will be open to romance again in the 13-episode first season and his hopes for a multi-season run on CBS.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tLuke Grimes has credited your hook for this show as to why he decided to put on Kayce Dutton\u2019s cowboy hat again. Now that we know that hook, can you take us inside the conversations to get Luke to say yes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYes, that was the final hurdle. I think I got a lot of help from Taylor [Sheridan], who told Luke that I was worth hearing out and that maybe had kernel of an idea worth exploring. So we connected and it was a very easy conversation. It wasn\u2019t a straight-up pitch. It was a conversation. I quickly realized that Luke is a very smart guy. He is also a true artist. We both knew from the jump that Kayce had such a great ending on Yellowstone<\/em> that, as Luke said in that conversation, \u201cWhat are we going to do, watch him be happy? That\u2019s pretty boring.\u201d We both knew that we needed to flip his world. It was funny because me coming from SEAL Team<\/em>, I was like, \u201cI gotta do Yellowstone<\/em>. I gotta do Yellowstone<\/em>.\u201d And he was like, \u201cLet\u2019s go back and look more at his time as a [Navy] SEAL.\u201d We were almost pitching each other our own past. It was, honestly, one of the easiest creative conversations I\u2019ve ever had where we just clicked right away. I didn\u2019t leave that conversation wondering if he was on board.<\/p>\n

\n\tHad you approached Taylor Sheridan with your idea, or did he and the studio seek you out to continue Kayce\u2019s story? If you can go even further back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tMy conversations started in May or June of 2024 with David Glasser at 101 and Keith Cox at Paramount, and it was really just exploring: \u201cCan Kayce Dutton have a show that would be on CBS?\u201d There were a few months of trying to figure out.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy Kayce for a CBS spinoff?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tBecause of his background and the toolkit he has as a former Navy SEAL, and what we saw from him when he was in the Livestock Police \u2014 and also just from being such a kick-ass cowboy. Because of everything he\u2019s been through \u2014 all the loss in his life \u2014 he\u2019s an empathetic first responder who has seen it all. I think that gives him more drive to keep other people from going through what he\u2019s gone through. In that first conversation, they asked me about a few of the people from Yellowstone<\/em>, and I sort of honed in on Kayce, because, as a viewer, Kayce was always my favorite character. So it took us a while and a few iterations.<\/p>\n

\n\tWho else did they ask you about possibly spinning off?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tDavid did start the conversation by asking, \u201cWould you rather watch a spinoff about Kayce Dutton or Beth Dutton?\u201d And, because he\u2019s David Glasser, he, of course, will have both shows on the air [with the forthcoming Rip and Beth spinoff Dutton Ranch<\/em>]. But I think probably because of some of my own personal life and having just come off SEAL Team and Kayce\u2019s backstory, that felt like the character I related to more. Fortunately, whatever I said was right.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tYellowstone<\/em> stars Mo Brings Plenty, Gil Birmingham as Thomas Rainwater and Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton return in Marshals<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonja Flemming\/CBS \u00a92025 CBS Broadcasting<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tI would imagine if you\u2019re Taylor Sheridan, who gave Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) an open-ended ending on Yellowstone<\/em> but closed Kayce\u2019s story with a beautiful ending, that he might hesitate about opening Kayce\u2019s story back up. Was that an easy conversation to pitch your idea to Taylor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tNo. I wouldn\u2019t say it was easy because I was so intimidated and just fumbling all over it. Whenever you\u2019re pitching someone, you want to be the best writer in the conversation. If you have a better writer with you, you want them to be next to you, not across from you. So the idea of telling him what his character that he created should do next was a little scary. But he was super gracious. And the timing was interesting in that it was either a week or two before the finale of Yellowstone<\/em>, so I didn\u2019t know where Kayce\u2019s journey was ending.<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, wow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI was like, \u201cWell, maybe he still has some skeletons,\u201d and Taylor pointed out, \u201cYou\u2019ll see next week. He\u2019s perfectly at peace.\u201d I was like, \u201cOh, well, that\u2019s a great place to start a new journey\u2026 (laughs<\/em>).\u201d So that was one of the complicating issues, to get Kayce on a new path when he had such a beautiful ending.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you then find your way to convince them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWell, Luke loves the character. He loves the ability of Kayce maybe making a choice. Kayce struggled so much in Yellowstone<\/em>. He was pulled in so many different directions, so seeing him actually commit to something and go down that path where it\u2019s going to be difficult for him to escape the Dutton [legacy], I think, is what Luke really connected with. He saw the upside of unleashing Kayce in that way. So the question of how do we turn his life upside down?<\/em> was one that became part of many conversations down the road. But I think he bought in because Taylor created such a great character, and I wasn\u2019t coming at him with something that sounded like a boilerplate procedural. I didn\u2019t use the word \u201cprocedural\u201d with him, because that\u2019s a bad word with Luke. (Laughs<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThen how does Taylor give you the reins? This is, I believe, his first show where he\u2019s not writing the first season himself. Did you have a bit of a \u201choly shit\u201d reaction to that happening, or was that part of your pitch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s definitely a \u201choly shit\u201d every step of the way. \u201cHoly shit, that\u2019s Taylor Sheridan across from me\u201d \u2026 \u201cThat\u2019s Kayce Dutton that I\u2019m talking to right now\u201d and \u201cNow I have to go off and write this.\u201d The greatest part of this process was that work for me was watching Yellowstone<\/em> on a loop, particularly Kayce. And also having access to Taylor\u2019s scripts. Part of the work was really getting under the hood of the character and Taylor\u2019s writing style, and eventually realizing that all I\u2019m going to be doing if I\u2019m trying to be Taylor is doing a Taylor Sheridan cover band, which is not great for anybody. So realizing that I\u2019m not<\/em> Taylor was also part of that journey, and freeing myself from those expectations. But it\u2019s definitely intimidating, and not only with Kayce, but then you get Gil Birmingham as Rainwater. Everything Rainwater said on Yellowstone<\/em> was the most profound, brilliant thing, so that was one [character] who I really, really struggled with. At the first table read, I went up to Gil and was like, \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, man. Like, I don\u2019t know!\u201d He was so gracious about it, but, yeah, it\u2019s been a journey.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you then land on the idea \u2014 now that we can finally talk about this \u2014 that flipping Kayce\u2019s life upside down meant Monica dying? They were always such a solid marriage in Yellowstone<\/em>. Was it a big debate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe original conversation was that it has to be something<\/em>. There was the thought of, \u201cMaybe we find him and he\u2019s just bored because he was protecting his family and was a Navy SEAL, so then actually a calm life is not for him, which is a path.\u2019 But probably not a satisfying enough path for Kayce. Then, truthfully, as we were trying to figure it out, Monica was not one of the ingredients that was available to me. it wasn\u2019t like Luke and I were sitting there saying, \u201cWe should kill Monica.\u201d It was more like, \u201cIf she\u2019s not available for this, then what\u2019s the best way to move on from that character in the least exploitive way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI was going to ask how the conversation went with Kelsey Asbille not being a part of this series, but that didn\u2019t happen for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I wasn\u2019t part of any of that, so I can\u2019t really speak to how or why that played out the way it did. But when that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce. And I think the way we\u2019ve done it, my goal was to not undermine that journey in Yellowstone<\/em> because they do have [the dream] \u2014 she says, \u201cThis is a dream come true\u201d at the end of it. They did achieve that. They did get what they finally wanted, and, unfortunately, life just intervened and disrupted everything that Kayce wanted. So that\u2019s where we find him in Marshals<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tGrimes as Kayce Dutton with Kelsey Asbille as Monica Dutton at the end of Yellowstone<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParamount Network<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tHow did you land on how she dies? And will we learn more about that time period, or is the show moving away from the past as it finds itself in future episodes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was important to me to honor her death and give it a little more meaning. Of course there\u2019s the version where you really exploit it and she\u2019s just been killed, and he needs the [Marshals] badge to get vengeance for her. But Kayce Dutton doesn\u2019t need a badge to go out and do something like that. It felt like he would be coming in at a different temperature than we wanted. <\/p>\n

\n\tSo as I started thinking about the inciting incident, it felt like tying her death to a real-life issue that we could shine a little bit of a spotlight on [was right]. Our reservations have really high cancer rates, and it\u2019s because of all the terrible things that have been done to them. So that felt like a way to honor that character, and she is kind of guiding Kayce. Tate is at that rally because of his mother, and Kayce\u2019s there to protect Tate. So without Monica, maybe Kayce doesn\u2019t find that path. So we will continue to explore [that]. I think Kayce is a little bit behind his son in terms of accepting the loss of Monica, and really embracing his grief. We will revisit that period a little bit and also really explore in the first half of the season Kayce\u2019s journey of trying to let go and really accept that she\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much are you trying to service Yellowstone<\/em> fans, compared to welcoming in a new audience? Ending the premiere with Kayce at Monica\u2019s tombstone felt like a big nod to how Yellowstone<\/em> ended, because it circled around to honoring the generations who came before them. How much will you be sprinkling in Yellowstone<\/em> ties every episode?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tGiven how successful and how popular that show was, and just the richness of Kayce\u2019s backstory and the Dutton backstory \u2014 and we\u2019re still in Montana; he\u2019s still on the same ranch that he was all of Yellowstone<\/em>, in a corner of it \u2014 it would be really foolish to turn our back on that. Early on, the balancing act was building off of Yellowstone<\/em>, but in a way where people who didn\u2019t watch that show can still follow along. And then over time, as we get to know the non-Yellowstone<\/em> characters more, they can carry the story more. But I think we will always have that connective tissue to Yellowstone<\/em>. It\u2019s what makes the show unique, so I think we will always try to service that. Between Rainwater and Mo [played by Mo Brings Plenty] and Kayce, I would be foolish to not continue to tap into that.<\/p>\n

\n\tMarshals<\/em> is 13 episodes total?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYes.<\/p>\n

\n\tHave you outlined multiple seasons? Does the end of this season clearly set up the desire for more? What\u2019s your vision, if it were up to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIf you had asked me this nine months ago, I probably would have said that I\u2019m just trying to get to episodes two and three. This came together very quickly. It was like \u2014 write the pilot and the [writers] room starts. But we definitely take the longview. It\u2019s a CBS show. You\u2019d like to hope that you have multiple seasons ahead of you. With all the character arcs, there are things we\u2019re setting up in season one that we want to pay off in season two or even further down the road. But at the same time, we don\u2019t want to tease things and have them never be answered. We certainly end the season in a propulsive way that paints us into a corner and demands us coming back for season two, so fingers are crossed.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there room for a Beth Dutton crossover, should the stars align?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I think if the stars aligned that would be pretty cool to have Beth and Rip in our world. Luke and I have talked about it. I think it\u2019s really just having these two productions, and trying to figure that out would be the challenge. But I certainly think the Yellowstone<\/em> audience deserves seeing Kayce and his sister together, again, at some point. They ended Yellowstone<\/em> at a really good place, and they both have lost so much family that it would seem like their bond would be even stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Taylor as an EP, how hands on was he? Is there anything particular you took away from working with him on this first season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThroughout this process, he\u2019s always been available to me. When I pitched it, he was super gracious and we had a back and forth. In his brain, he took what my ideas were, which is a fair amount of what\u2019s on the screen, but he reshaped them and put it in the right package for Marshals<\/em>. He did that in about three minutes, which was really annoying, because I had been working on it for, like, six months. (Laughs<\/em>.) Part of it was also accepting that he is on this heightened level with how his brain processes things \u2014 there\u2019s a reason he\u2019s who he is. But he wants the show to stay on its own. He has a very full plate. I do think my job is to keep things from getting onto Taylor\u2019s plate. So with the day-to-day, he has really let me sort of run with it. But any time he will share his wisdom with me, I will happily take it.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tAsh Santos as Andrea, Tatanka Means as Miles, Arielle Kebbel as Belle, Logan Marshall-Green as Pete Calvin with Grimes as Kayce.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonja Flemming\/CBS \u00a92025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tKayce is currently grieving, but is there room for romance in his future in season one? Anything you can tease?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI do think the first part of the season is him trying to figure out how to let go of Monica. Over a year has passed. So I think if he\u2019s able to achieve that, it will open him up to some possibilities.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs Mo Brings Plenty also consulting as American Indian affairs coordinator on this series?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYes, he\u2019s consulting and on camera.<\/p>\n

\n\tWill Marshals<\/em> continue to shine a light on reservation stories?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYes. I think that\u2019s one of the great things that Taylor has done in his work, not just in Yellowstone<\/em>, but it also gives a little more depth to our storytelling. We do an episode shining a spotlight on how many children go missing from our reservations and how not enough is being done about that. The mine story [from the premiere] will continue throughout the season. The Broken Rock Reservation gives us that connective tissue to Yellowstone<\/em>, which is so valuable.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tMarshals releases new episodes Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS, streaming on Paramount+ the next day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This story contains major spoilers from the season premiere of Marshals.] In order to revisit Luke Grimes\u2018 Yellowstone character with a spinoff series, something would have to flip Kayce Dutton\u2019s world upside down. The son to the late John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner) rode off with a pretty perfect ending on the flagship series…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":714453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3098759_02764b-e1772408899273.jpg?w=1440&h=810&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2443,134086,34713,101169,156210,2193],"class_list":["post-714452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-cbs","tag-luke-grimes","tag-marshals","tag-taylor-sheridan","tag-y-marshals","tag-yellowstone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}